Holly Balls (sculpture disguising itself as a Christmas decoration)

The sculpture was made about two years ago but has been hidden away in a box. It was exhibited on the Christmas tree as a structure that was meant to complement and fit with its surroundings. It is an extension of work that I started in 1969 when I made a series of sculptures out of either No 6 cigarette  packets or Swan Vesta matchboxes which were then left on buses or park benches for anybody to find or take away. In the early 80's I extended  the idea of sculpture that would be found as part of the environment by inserting small wooden structures into corners of telephone boxes. The structures were reminiscent of such things as swallow nests. 

Christmas in a jewellery box

Fossil (4x4).

In recent months I have been making small sculptures that are based on the grid system on a cutting mat. I am tending to keep them in sets of 4 with each one using the same picture. The small cubic individual structures tends to look like a building that is opened up to the outside. This is because each one was influenced by a newspaper picture that I saw of a set of buildings in a war zone that had been bombed and shelled so that parts of their structure were missing. The rock in the centre contains the fossil of what looks like a leaf which I found on a beach in Dorset. The photos are of leaves and ornaments from a Christmas tree.

Dorset Tornado

Something about the breaking sound that seems to say stick me back together. It doesn't really say how though. Smashing really, or maybe smashing reality.

xmas sculpture

The lower sculpture is the start of a series of sculptures that will be wall mounted and interlinked.

The top photo is of one of two sculptures that have taken a year to create. This is not because they have been conceptually difficult but because once Christmas passes it seems a long way away until the next time around. Apart from that I was just interested in the patterned paper rather than the implications of Christmas. The concept of gift has not passed me by however.